Verizon is shutting down its original video app Go90

Verizon is shutting down its original video app Go90 on July 31st, according to a report from Variety. The app derived its name from the process of turning a smartphone from the vertical orientation to a horizontal one, presumably to watch longer-form video content like television shows and shorts that Verizon hoped would make its platform appealing to younger audiences.

It offered a mix of original short-form videos in the vein of web series, live sports, and licensed programming from official networks, all for free. The goal was to subsidize the app with pricey advertising, with the hope that marketers would be eager to reach Go90’s lucrative Snapchat-loving demographic.

Go90’s programming never really caught on, and also the name was stupid

That vision never quite panned out for Verizon. Go90, which launched back n 2015, suffered from a silly name and anemic viewership rates across the board, and none of its original video programming ever really caught on. (Although one Go90-financed film, Kobe Bryant’s animated short Dear Basketball, did win an Oscar.) In 2016, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam admitted that the Go90 platform “did get a little bit overhyped.” Digiday reports Verizon spent more than $1.2 billion on the project.

According to Variety, the Go90 team and its operations have been folded into Oath, the new multimedia unit borne from the combination of AOL and Yahoo that Verizon obtained when it acquired Yahoo’s core web assets. “Following the creation of Oath, Go90 will be discontinued,” a Verizon spokesperson told Variety said in a statement. “Verizon will focus on building its digital-first brands at scale in sports, finance, news and entertainment for today’s mobile consumers and tomorrow’s 5G applications.”